People & Appointments

Corsham Institute appoints first CEO

Rachel NeamanCorsham Institute, which works to create an inclusive, citizen-centric and trusted digital society, has announced the appointment of Rachel Neaman as its first CEO.

The institute – which was formed in 2013 to explore the opportunities and challenges of the digital society, both social and economic, focusing on shaping a future where individuals realise their full potential, as part of a highly-connected, always-on world – is based at Hartham Park.

Besides delivering national and international programmes, it has a wide range of local initiatives including Digital Corsham and the community-led digital tv channel, Corsham TV.

Rachel is currently a consultant at the Tech Partnership, the network of employers collaborating to create the skills for the digital economy.

She was previously Director of Skills and Partnerships at Doteveryone, the digital organisation founded by Baroness Martha Lane Fox to make the internet work for everyone, and before that was chief executive of Baroness Lane-Fox’s digital skills charity Go ON UK, which merged with Doteveryone in April 2016.

Prior to joining Go ON UK she was Digital Leader and Head of Profession for Digital at the Department of Health, responsible for digital strategy, policy and transformation

From 2013–16, Rachel was chairman of Digital Leaders, the UK’s premier platform for expert opinion and networking on digital transformation, and is now a non-executive member of the advisory board under the new chairman, Lord Francis Maude.

She is also a non-executive member of the DigitalHealth.London advisory board, and was was voted 20th in Computer Weekly’s list of 50 Most Influential Women in IT 2016.

Jeffrey Thomas, founding chairman of the Corsham Institute said: “Rachel’s extensive senior leadership experience in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in the UK and internationally makes her the ideal choice to lead the Institute as our first Chief Executive Officer.

“The Corsham Institute was founded to gain a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges afforded by our digital society. We are delighted to welcome Rachel at this formative stage in our development. She is uniquely qualified to deliver on our vision to establish the UK as a leading digital economy.”

Karen Price, CEO of the Tech Partnership said: “I’m delighted to see that Rachel will be leading the exciting programme of work at the Corsham Institute. This appointment is very good news for employers and the broader digital community and I look forward to continuing to work with Rachel in her new role.”

Rachel said: “I am hugely excited by the opportunity of working with the Corsham Institute.

“I strongly believe Ci has a major role to play in creating the inclusive, citizen-centred digital society that we so badly need in an age where personal data has become a commercial commodity, information is manipulated by algorithms, and individual privacy has lost its meaning.

“I have been extremely impressed by the amount that Ci has accomplished to date as well as by its ambitions for the future. I look forward to building on these achievements and helping Ci accelerate a digital society and economy in which all can thrive.”